Method and apparatus for modifying output characteristics of proximate devices

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for reducing distractions from nearby devices when content susceptible to interruption is being consumed. Content susceptible to interruption is determined, and when this content is consumed on one device, nearby devices are identified and their output characteristics are modified. For example, output volume of nearby devices may be reduced, or the volume of the first device may be increased. This process is repeated with different devices as they each output content determined to be susceptible to interruption. Consumers are thus presented with fewer distractions from surrounding devices while they are consuming content that is susceptible to interruption.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to content consumption onelectronic devices. More specifically, embodiments of the disclosurerelate to reducing distractions during consumption of content onelectronic devices.

SUMMARY

The wide availability and selection of digital content, combined withthe large number of electronic devices available for its display, meanthat consumers may select and consume desired content at almost any timeand any location that they wish. Additionally, contemporary personalelectronic devices are now equipped with many different functions,allowing users to employ their devices at seemingly all times, for manydifferent uses.

The flexibility and availability of such electronic devices is notwithout its drawbacks, however. For example, many different devices areoften used in close proximity to each other, raising the possibilitythat some devices may disturb or distract nearby users of other devices.This is particularly true in areas such as homes, coffee shops, andother areas where people frequently congregate. In the home example,multiple members of the same household can find themselves sitting inthe same room but each utilizing different electronic devices at thesame time. Noises emitted by any such device may distract other deviceusers in the room. Adding to this problem is the increasingly likelypresence of still further devices in the same room or nearby, such ashousehold appliances, electronic peripherals like printers, electronicpersonal assistants, and the like. Each may output noises, light, orimages that may disturb people watching content on their devices.

Accordingly, to overcome the problems and limitations of electronicdevices distracting other users when in close proximity, systems andmethods are described herein for a computer-based process thatdetermines when a device is consuming content susceptible tointerruption, and modifies an output characteristic of other nearbydevices. The output characteristic can be any characteristic of anelectronic device, such as output volume, screen or indicator lightluminance, noise from operation of devices such as home appliances, andthe like.

To carry out this process, a system receives identifiers of portions ofcontent designated as susceptible to interruption. Examples of suchportions include quiet or dark content whose viewers would be easilydistracted by nearby noises or flashing lights, and live content thatcannot be rewound and played back after a distraction. Nearby devicesare then selected for their proximity to the interruptible content beingconsumed, and the users of these devices are determined. If the users ofthese nearby devices are different from the user viewing theinterruptible content, then output characteristics of these nearbydevices are modified while interruptible content is being consumed. Inthis manner, the system continuously scans for portions of content thatare susceptible to interruption, and when these portions are beingconsumed, modifies the output characteristics of other nearby devices,thus reducing distractions for the viewers of interruptible content.

The designation of content as susceptible to interruption may be madevia metadata. More specifically, content metadata may containidentifiers or pointers defining those portions of content that havebeen marked or selected as susceptible to interruption. The identifiersof such content portions may thus be received from content metadata.

It may be beneficial for the system to modify the output characteristicsof only those devices that are used by others besides the viewer ofinterruptible content. In particular, a user may wish to watch both theinterruptible content on one device, and other content on anotherdevice. For example, a user may wish to watch a movie with scenessusceptible to interruption, while also following a sporting event onhis or her phone. Accordingly, it is beneficial for the system todetermine the user of each device. In this situation, the user may wishto continue following the sporting event even during sensitive scenes ofthe movie. To that end, the system may employ user identifiers for eachdevice, where the user identifiers indicate which user is currentlyusing a particular device. The modification in output characteristicsmay thus be applied to only those devices with a user different from theuser streaming interruptible content.

As the risk of interruption only arises for nearby devices, embodimentsof the disclosure contemplate the selection of devices by location. Apredetermined set of devices can be determined, such as a set of deviceswhich are currently receiving a content stream from a particular source,or which are currently latched onto a particular network. From this setof devices, only those which are near the device consuming interruptiblecontent pose any risk. Thus, the system determines the locations of eachdevice in the predetermined set of devices, and from the locations alsodetermines the distance of each device from the device consuminginterruptible content. Those within a certain threshold distance are theonly ones whose output characteristics are modified. Devices outside thethreshold distance are deemed too far away to disturb the viewer ofinterruptible content.

Devices can present a disturbance or interruption in many ways. Devicesmay emit noises that are too loud, for example, or may be so bright asto distract others nearby. Alternatively, devices may consume contentthat would be inappropriate or disturbing to those currently viewingcertain types of content. In particular, viewers of content meant toinvoke certain moods may be disturbed by other content that runs counterto those moods. For example, viewers of a cooking show may find itparticularly unappetizing when a nearby horror or gore film is playing.Likewise, viewers of a romance movie may find the mood ruined by anearby device playing a violent action movie. Accordingly, the systemcan modify any output characteristic of a device. This includes outputvolume and output luminance, so that both objectionable audio andobjectionable images are modified. The output volume can be partiallymodified, i.e., quieted, or modified to zero, i.e., the content of adevice can be muted. The modification in output characteristics, such asvolume modification, can be applied to any content consumed on thedevices. It can further be applied to any other output of any electronicdevice. For instance, output characteristic modification may includevolume modification or muting of device ringtones, notifications,alerts, and the like.

The embodiments of the disclosure are also not limited to displaydevices that display electronic content. That is, the system can modifyoutput characteristics of other devices besides those that displaycontent. In particular, the system can modify output characteristics ofany device that can connect to a communications network, such as anyInternet of Things or connected device. Thus, for example, the systemcan reduce the output volume of home appliances, can delay operation ofnoise-generating appliances such as dishwashers until interruptiblecontent is over, or the like.

It should be noted that the above described processes can be repeated asdifferent devices each consume content that is susceptible tointerruption. That is, the system can receive indications of portions ofcontent susceptible to interruption for each different device that it isstreaming content to. As these portions are consumed on differentdevices, the other devices may have their output characteristicsmodified. Thus, at any given time, the device consuming interruptiblecontent may be designated as a priority device for which the remainingdevices have their output characteristics modified. As different devicesbegin to consume interruptible content, those devices then become thepriority device, and the process repeats with that new priority device.In this manner, a device may be selected as the priority device when itis consuming interruptible content, and later may have its outputcharacteristics modified when another device is instead designated asthe priority device.

When multiple devices are consuming interruptible content at the sametime, one can be selected as the priority device. Selection can occur inany manner, such as by selecting one of these devices at random, or byselecting the device consuming live content, live primetime content,video on demand, or pay per view content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system for modifying distractions duringconsumption of selected portions of content on a content device, inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustration of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a generalized embodiment of illustrative content consumptiondevices constructed for use according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a generalized embodiment of an illustrative content directiondevice constructed for use according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating process steps for selecting secondcontent devices and modifying their output characteristics duringconsumption on a first content device of content susceptible tointerruption;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating process steps for selecting thesecond content devices of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating process steps for selecting prioritydevices and reducing output characteristics of devices other than thepriority devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to systems and methods formodifying distractions from nearby devices when content susceptible tointerruption is being consumed. Content susceptible to interruption isidentified, and when this content is being consumed on one device,nearby devices of other users are identified and their outputcharacteristics are modified. For example, output volume of nearbydevices may be reduced. This prevents distractions during consumption ofcontent that is susceptible to interruption.

The device currently consuming content designated as susceptible tointerruption may be selected as a priority device, where other devicesnear the priority device are the devices whose output characteristicsare modified. In an environment with multiple devices in proximity toeach other and each streaming content, different devices may consumecontent susceptible to interruption at different times. The prioritydevice may thus change over time. Accordingly, as different devices areselected as the priority device, devices near that priority device havetheir output characteristics modified.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system for modifying distractions duringconsumption of selected portions of content on a content device, inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure. System 100 includes afirst content consumption device 130 as well as a number of secondcontent consumption devices 110, each being viewed by a user as shown.First and second content consumption devices 130, 110 each communicatewith content direction device 120, which receives and forwards contentstreamed from content providers 140. In other words, content directiondevice 120 receives content from content providers 140 and transmits iton to the content consumption devices 110, 130 for viewing by users.Content may include any information for presentation to a user,including but not limited to audio and/or visual content such as movies,text, podcasts, and the like, as well as any live or pre-recordedcontent, where live content can include live events such as sportingevents, concerts, live talks, and the like. content also includes anyinteractive content that users may interact with through their devices110, 130, such as games, purchasing or e-commerce sites, content upload,audio/video calls, and any other interactive transactions.

In operation of system 100, a user may be, for example, watching a movieon first content consumption device 130, which may be a television. Themovie is streamed from one of the content providers 140 to contentdirection device 120, which in turn transmits the stream to the device130. Certain scenes of the movie may be scenes that the viewer may notwant interrupted. For instance, climactic scenes, quiet or dark sceneseasily susceptible to distraction by noises or lights, action scenes, orthe like. These scenes may be designated by indicators in metadata ofthe content stream from content provider 140. The content directiondevice 120 parses the metadata it receives as part of the content streamfrom content provider 140, to thereby determine when an easilyinterruptible scene is playing. When it is, content direction device 120commands other nearby content consumption devices 110 to modify theirvarious output characteristics, such as output volume or screenluminance. In this manner, nearby second content consumption devices 110are prevented from producing any output that may disturb the viewer offirst content consumption device 130 when device 130 is displayingcontent susceptible to interruption. This process is repeated fordifferent devices 110, 130 when those devices consume contentsusceptible to interruption. That is, the content direction device 120receives indicators of interruption susceptibility for each contentstream it receives, and when any such scene is playing, thecorresponding device 110, 130 effectively becomes a priority device, forwhich the remaining nearby devices 110, 130 have their outputcharacteristics modified.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram representation of the system of FIG. 1,presented for further illustration. Any number of content consumptiondevices 110 and 130 may be in communication with content directiondevice 120 through, for example, a local area network 200. The contentdirection device 120 is in electronic communication with contentprovider 140 through communications network 210. As one example, thecontent consumption devices 110 and 130, local area network 200, andcontent direction device 120 may all be situated within a local area,e.g., within various rooms of a home or office. The content provider 140may be a remotely located server at a content provider site, and thecommunications network 210 may be the public Internet. Alternatively,the content provider 140 may be situated within the local area and maybe, for example, a local content storage and streaming application on alocal computer including any of the above computing devices, or even astorage and display application within the content direction device 120itself. As in FIG. 1, multiple content providers 140 may be incommunication with content direction device 120 through communicationsnetwork 210.

As above, a user may be watching a show on first content consumptiondevice 110, at which point the content provider 140 is providing astream of the show through communications network 210 to contentdirection device 120. The content direction device 120 in turn receivesthis stream and directs it to device 110 over local area network 200.When another user requests another show or other stream on one of thesecond content consumption devices 130, the content direction device 120receives the stream from one content provider 140 and directs the streamto the second content consumption device 130. The content directiondevice 120 receives indicators of sensitive content, or contentsusceptible to interruption, from the various streams received fromcontent providers 140. From these indicators, the content directiondevice 120 determines which device 110, 130 if any is currentlyreceiving sensitive or interruptible content. The device 110, 130currently receiving such content is designated as a priority device,with the content direction device 120 directing the remaining devices110, 130 to modify their output characteristics.

The content consumption devices 110, 130 may be any devices capable ofreceiving streamed content and displaying the content for users. Forexample, content consumption devices 110, 130 may be digital TVs, laptopcomputers, smartphones, tablet computers, or the like. FIG. 3 shows ageneralized embodiment of an illustrative user equipment device 300 thatmay serve as a content consumption device. User equipment device 300 mayreceive content and data via input/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path 302.I/O path 302 may provide content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demandprogramming, Internet content, content available over a local areanetwork (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other content) and datato control circuitry 304, which includes processing circuitry 306 andstorage 308. Control circuitry 304 may be used to send and receivecommands, requests, and other suitable data using I/O path 302. I/O path302 may connect control circuitry 304 (and specifically processingcircuitry 306) to one or more communications paths (described below).I/O functions may be provided by one or more of these communicationspaths but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 to avoid overcomplicatingthe drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores). In some embodiments, processing circuitry maybe distributed across multiple separate processors or processing units,for example, multiple of the same type of processing units (e.g., twoIntel Core i7 processors) or multiple different processors (e.g., anIntel Core i5 processor and an Intel Core i7 processor). In someembodiments, control circuitry 304 executes instructions for receivingstreamed content and executing its display, such as executingapplication programs that provide interfaces for content providers 140to stream and display content.

Control circuitry 304 may thus include communications circuitry suitablefor communicating with a content provider 140 server or other networksor servers. Communications circuitry may include a cable modem, anintegrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriberline (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card, or a wireless modemfor communications with other equipment, or any other suitablecommunications circuitry. Such communications may involve the Internetor any other suitable communications networks or paths. In addition,communications circuitry may include circuitry that enables peer-to-peercommunication of user equipment devices, or communication of userequipment devices in locations remote from each other.

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 308 thatis part of control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used(e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-basedstorage may be used to supplement storage 308 or instead of storage 308.

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be included.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using user inputinterface 310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 312 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300. For example, display 312 may be a touchscreen ortouch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 310may be integrated with or combined with display 312. Display 312 may beone or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD)for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature polysilicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, activematrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathoderay tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescentdisplay, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display,thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display,surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television,carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulatordisplay, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images.In some embodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 312 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 312.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 312 may be played throughspeakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

FIG. 4 is a generalized embodiment of an illustrative content directiondevice 120 constructed for use according to embodiments of thedisclosure. Here, device 400 may serve as a content direction device.Device 400 may receive content and data via I/O paths 402 and 404. I/Opath 402 may provide content and data to the various content consumptiondevices 110 and 130, while I/O path 404 may provide data to, and receivecontent from, one or more content providers 140. Like the user equipmentdevice 300, the device 400 has control circuitry 406 which includesprocessing circuitry 408 and storage 410. The control circuitry 406,processing circuitry 408, and storage 410 may be constructed, and mayoperate, in similar manner to the respective components of userequipment device 300.

Storage 410 is a memory that stores a number of programs for executionby processing circuitry 408. In particular, storage 410 may store anumber of device interfaces 412, content provider interfaces 414, logs416 for keeping track of which devices 110, 130 are currently playingsensitive or interruptible content, and data transfer routines 418. Thedevice interfaces 412 are interface programs for handling the exchangeof commands and data with the various content consumption devices 110,130. Content provider interfaces 414 are interface programs for handlingthe exchange of commands and content streams with various contentproviders 140, and are programmed to exchange commands and contentsimilar to a corresponding application program on a content consumptiondevice 110, 130. A separate interface 414 may exist for each differentcontent provider 140 that has its own format for commands or content.Data transfer module 418 handles routing of content streams from thecontent providers 140 to the appropriate content consumption devices110, 130. That is, module 418 contains routines for redirecting contentstreams received from content providers 140 to specific contentconsumption devices 110, 130. If content is stored within device 400itself, it may be stored in storage 410 along with an applicationprogram that streams the stored content to a destination specified asbelow.

The device 400 may be any electronic device capable of receiving contentstreams and transferring them to one or more content consumption devices110, 130. For example, the device 400 may be a networked in-home smartdevice connected between a home modem and various content consumptiondevices 110, 130. The device 400 may alternatively be a laptop computeror desktop computer configured as above.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating process steps for selecting secondcontent devices and modifying their output characteristics duringconsumption of interruptible content on a first content device. In anenvironment in which content direction device 120 receives multiplecontent streams and forwards them to multiple devices 110, 130, thecontent direction device 120 detects content consumption on a firstcontent device, i.e., one of the devices 110, 130 (Step 500). Thecontent direction device 120 also receives from its content streamsidentifiers of portions of content designated as susceptible tointerruption (Step 510). As above, these identifiers may be receivedfrom the metadata of content streams transmitted by content providers140. From these identifiers, the content direction device 120 determineswhich device 110, 130 is currently consuming content designated assusceptible to interruption. In this example, the content consumptiondevice 130 is the device currently consuming content designated assusceptible to interruption, and can be referred to as the first device.The content direction device 120 then selects second content deviceslocated proximate to a first content device (Step 520) and determinesidentifiers of the second content devices (Step 530), to determinewhether users of the second content devices 110 are different from theviewer of the first content direction device 130. For each secondcontent device 110 having a determined identifier different from anidentifier of the first content device, i.e., for each device 110 with auser different from the user of device 130, the content direction device120 modifies an output characteristic of that second content device 110during consumption of any portions of identified content on the firstcontent device (Step 540). Modification of output characteristics caninclude reduction or muting of outputs such as volume or luminance, asabove. Modification can also include redirection of outputs to otherdevices, for example redirecting notifications or alerts to another lessintrusive device, such as headphones or a smartwatch. Any modificationthat alters any output characteristic of a device is contemplated, solong as it reduces the intrusiveness of the output characteristic duringperiods of interruptible content.

The device identifiers described above are identifiers of specificusers, and are used by the content direction device 120 to determine theuser of each content consumption device 110, 130. Determination ofdevice 110, 130 users may be performed in any manner. This includessimply assuming that each device 110, 130 has a unique user.Alternatively, the content direction device 120 may keep a record ofusers and devices in its logs 416, from which the user of each device110, 130 is determined. Each user may be assigned a unique useridentifier UID. Each user identifier UID can be associated with one ormore device identifiers DID corresponding to the devices that the userhas used at one time. The logs 416 may also store account identifiersAID for each account with one of the content providers 140. The accountidentifiers AID are also associated with the UID of the user owning eachaccount. Additionally, the logs may store pointers to user profilesP_UID which are unique user profiles for each user. The user profilesmay also be stored in storage 410 or elsewhere as appropriate.

The record of users can be built over time, as various users use thedevices 110, 130. Initially, each device 110, 130 can be assigned oneuser UID, and as users add accounts, the new account identifiers AID arestored for each device DID that account is used on. A user profile UIDis generated or retrieved for each UID, along with a pointer P_UID tothat profile. Users can be added as new users register, new devices areadded, as new accounts are added, or as comparison of the user profilesindicates that someone is requesting content that does not fit anyexisting user profile. The determination of a new user by negativecomparison to existing profiles is known, and any such method iscontemplated by the instant disclosure.

Storing this information in the logs 416 allows the content directiondevice 120 to determine the user of each device 110, 130. When thecontent direction device 120 receives a request to stream content, itdetermines the device identifier DID of the device from which itreceives the request, and the account identifier AID of the account thatgenerated the request. From this information, associated useridentifiers UID are determined with reference to the logs 416. If onlyone user identifier UID is associated with the device that requested thecontent, or if only a single UID is associated with the AID thatgenerated the request, that user can be deemed to be the user currentlyrequesting content. If multiple UIDs are associated with the DID andAID, the correct user is determined by comparison of the requestedcontent to the user profiles (retrieved with associated pointer P_UID)associated with each of the multiple UIDs. The profile expressing apreference for content that most closely matches the requested contentmay be deemed to identify the correct user. Such user identificationprocesses are known. The present disclosure contemplates the selectionof a correct user from among multiple candidates, with reference to userprofiles, in any manner. The user identification steps herein may alsobe repeated when content is requested on a subsequent device, todetermine the user of each device requesting content.

In this manner, the user of each device 110, 130 is determined as itrequests content. Devices 110 whose user is determined to be the same asthe user of device 130 do not have their output characteristics modifiedduring periods of sensitive or interruptible content. That is, theoutput characteristic modification of embodiments of the disclosure maybe applied only to devices used by users other than the viewer ofsensitive or interruptible content. When the viewer of such content isalso engaging with another device, it may be assumed that the viewerwishes to direct his or her attention to that other device, rather thanthe sensitive or interruptible content. Accordingly, the outputcharacteristics of that device are not modified. It is noted, however,that embodiments of the disclosure also contemplate modifying outputcharacteristics of all devices near that device which is consumingsensitive or interruptible content, regardless of whether they involve acommon user. That is, the disclosure includes embodiments in whichdevices 110 have their output characteristics modified even when theyare being viewed by the user of device 130 displaying sensitive orinterruptible content.

As above, content metadata may contain indicators labeling or flaggingportions of that content as being susceptible to interruption, i.e.,sensitive or interruptible. Content may be determined to be sensitive orinterruptible in any manner, and according to any criteria. As oneexample, the determination of sensitive or interruptible content may bemade according to an analysis of content image frames. Fast-changingcontent may be considered as sensitive or susceptible to interruption,as such content is hard to follow in the face of distractions.Accordingly, content may be flagged as sensitive or interruptible whenits image frames change at a rapid pace. Successive frames may thus becompared, and a series of such frames that each differ significantlyfrom the previous frame can be flagged as sensitive or interruptible.Similarly, content may be flagged when subsequent frames have abrightness variance exceeding a predetermined threshold, i.e., frameschange rapidly in brightness (for example creating a strobing orflashing effect). Likewise, content may be flagged when frames withhighly contrasting intensity between background and foreground aredetected, thus requiring the viewer's eyes to need time to adjust. Theadjustment may be hindered by proximate devices exceeding a brightnessthreshold. The comparison of images in successive frames is known, andany such method is contemplated.

Content may alternatively be flagged in any other manner. Live sportingevents, for example, may be flagged when scores exceed a certain amount,if opponent scores are within a certain amount of each other (closegame), if the sporting event is in an overtime period, or the like. Adslots within live content may also be flagged as sensitive orinterruptible. Live content may also be flagged in real time, so thatcertain events occurring live may trigger designation as sensitive orinterruptible content. For example, detection of sudden bright flashessuch as gunfire, or sudden high audio volume such as crowd noiseindicating a goal or a score, may trigger the live content stream to beflagged as sensitive or interruptible.

As another example, the determination of sensitive or interruptiblecontent may be made according to an analysis of content audio. Forinstance, loud scenes such as action scenes may be consideredsusceptible to interruption, as viewers may find them engrossing andwish to view them undisturbed. Similarly, quiet scenes may also beconsidered susceptible to interruption, as any disturbance is easilyheard by viewers. Accordingly, content may be flagged as sensitive orinterruptible when the measured volume of a scene is greater than somepredetermined upper bound, or lower than some predetermined lower bound.Volume may be measured in any manner, including average volume of ascene, peak or lowest volume of a scene, or any other measure of volumeover time. The predetermined upper and lower bounds may each be of anyvalue. As another example, certain specific sounds may be determinedwithin content, including emotional sounds such as crying, screams,crashes, gunfire, and the like, where detection of any of these soundsmay indicate a scene susceptible to interruption. Detection of suchsounds is known, and includes comparison to a stored set of sounds,machine classification of sounds, and other methods. Any such approachis contemplated.

As a further example, the determination of sensitive or interruptiblecontent may be made according to an analysis of content text. Morespecifically, closed caption or subtitle text may be scanned for certainwords that correspond to scenes susceptible to interruption. In oneimplementation, a dictionary of such words may be stored, and closedcaption or subtitle words that match words in the dictionary mayindicate a scene susceptible to interruption. The dictionary may includewords that convey emotion, so that one or more such words may indicateemotional content that viewers may wish to watch undisturbed. Subtitlesthat include musical notes or names of background music pieces may alsoindicate climactic or emotional scenes. Any such text, in any amounts,may be used to indicate sensitive or interruptible content.

Embodiments of the disclosure contemplate flagging content assusceptible to interruption according to any one or more of contentimages, audio, and text. Additionally, as content typically originatesfrom the content providers 140, the content providers 140 may be theentity that labels portions of content as sensitive or interruptible.Any entity may be responsible for labeling content, however. Inparticular, the content direction device 120 may analyze content streamsas it receives them, to determine when a portion of a stream issusceptible to interruption. Any device on the network of FIG. 2 may beconfigured to analyze content to determine content portions susceptibleto interruption. Furthermore, in some embodiments, content directiondevice 120 may disregard sensitive or interruptible content, or disableoutput modification of nearby devices, in its discretion. For example,content direction device 120 may not perform any output modification ofnearby devices 110 that are connected to headphones, or located nearbybut in a closed room, or that do not otherwise pose a risk ofinterruption. Determination of device 110 status, such as beingheadphone connected or in a closed room, may be accomplished in anymanner, such as by direct querying of the devices 110 by contentdirection device 120, user input, and location information as furtherdescribed herein.

As described above, once the content direction device 120 determinescontent designated as sensitive or susceptible to interruption, device120 then selects those devices 110 that are located near the device 130consuming the sensitive content. The devices 110 can be selectedaccording to their distance from device 130, and can be located at anydistance proximate to device 130. Proximity can be determined in anymanner. For example, devices 110 can be considered proximate to device130 if they are within any predetermined distance from device 130, ifthey are within the same room, on the same local area network 200, orthe like. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating process steps for selectingsecond content devices 110 by predetermined distance. Locations ofsecond content devices 110 are first retrieved (Step 600). Theselocations may be retrieved from the devices 110 themselves when suchinformation is available, and may be for example global positioningsystem (GPS) location information determined by GPS chipsets withindevices 110. Location may also be determined in any other manner, suchas by preprogrammed locations stored in either devices 110 or contentdirection device 120, preprogrammed flags indicating certain devices arein the same room (which may be entered by users), Bluetooth proximity tothe device 120, or the like. Any method of determining device locationis contemplated.

Once the locations of second content devices 110 are determined, thecontent direction device 120 determines the distances between theretrieved locations and the location of device 130 (Step 610). Thelocation of device 130 may be retrieved in the same manner as fordevices 110 in Step 600, or in any other manner. For instance, thelocation of device 130 may be approximated as the location of thecontent direction device 120. Any method of determining distancesbetween a first content device 130 and second content devices 110 iscontemplated. Alternatively, in cases where it is known which roomcertain devices are in, a precise location need not be calculated.

The second content devices 110 are selected according to the distancesdetermined in Step 610 (Step 620). Selection may be by any criteria. Forinstance, devices 110 may be selected as second content devices if theyare located within any threshold distance of device 130. This thresholddistance may be any value, e.g., 10 feet, 20 feet, the same room, or thelike.

It is noted that the above described process of modifying outputcharacteristics of nearby devices 110 is a repetitive one. That is, asthe content direction device 120 streams sensitive or interruptiblecontent to any device 110, that device 110 becomes the device 130, andthe previous device 130 becomes a device 110. In other words, as devices110, 130 consume sensitive or interruptible content, the remainingnearby devices 110, 130 have their output characteristics modified.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating this process in further detail. Asabove, when a number of content streams are being consumed on multiplecontent devices 110, 130, the content direction device 120 receivesidentifiers of predetermined sensitive or interruptible portions of eachcontent stream (Step 700). One of the content devices currentlyconsuming the predetermined portion of its content stream is thendesignated as a priority device (Step 710). When only one device isconsuming a sensitive or interruptible portion of content, that deviceis designated as the priority device. When more than one device 110, 130is consuming sensitive or interruptible content at a given time, thecontent direction device 120 selects one such device 110, 130 as thepriority device. The remaining devices 110, 130 have their outputcharacteristics modified even if they are one of the devices currentlyconsuming sensitive or interruptible content.

The content direction device 120 may select priority devices in anymanner. As one example, the content direction device 120 may randomlyselect one of the devices currently consuming sensitive or interruptiblecontent to be the priority device. Alternatively, device 120 may selectthe first device to consume sensitive or interruptible content.

As another example, different types of content may be assigned differentpriority levels, so that in the event of a conflict between differentcontent streams each designated as sensitive or interruptible, thecontent stream with the highest priority level is designated as thepriority device. For instance, live, or live primetime, content may beassigned the highest priority level, followed by video on demand and payper view content. Any hierarchy of priority levels for any types ofcontent is contemplated. Priority levels may be included in contentmetadata as, or as part of, the indicators of sensitive or interruptiblecontent portions.

Any method of selecting priority devices from among a set of devices iscontemplated. That is, the content direction device 120 may employ anyone or more of the above described methods to determine the prioritydevice at any given time.

Once the priority device is designated, content direction device 120modifies one or more output characteristics of each content device otherthan the priority device (Step 720). As above, the outputcharacteristics may be any output of any device, such as device volumeoutput, screen luminance, and the like. When the devices in question areappliances, Internet of Things or connected devices, etc., the outputcharacteristics may include device on/off states, indicator lights, andthe like. That is, when sensitive content is being consumed on a device110, 130, the content direction device 120 may turn off nearbyappliances until the sensitive content is done being consumed, may turnoff or lower appliance indicator lights, or modify/stop any otherappliance output. In this manner, the content direction device 120continually designates different devices 110, 130 as the priority deviceas different devices 110, 130 consume content portions determined to besensitive or interruptible.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure.However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specificdetails are not required to practice the methods and systems of thedisclosure. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments ofthe present invention are presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations are possible in view of the above teachings. For example,portions of content may be designated as susceptible to interruption viaany criteria, and other nearby content devices can be determined in anymanner, whether by location or otherwise. Additionally, conflictsbetween multiple devices each simultaneously consuming contentsusceptible to interruption may be resolved by selecting one of thedevices at random, by selecting devices according to predeterminedpriority levels associated with their content, or in any other manner.The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the methods and systemsof the disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications asare suited to the particular use contemplated. Additionally, differentfeatures of the various embodiments, disclosed or otherwise, can bemixed and matched or otherwise combined so as to create furtherembodiments contemplated by the disclosure.

1. A method of modifying output characteristics of proximate devices,the method comprising: detecting content consumption of a first contentdevice; receiving identifiers of portions of the content, the portionsdesignated as portions of the content susceptible to interruption;selecting second content devices located proximate to the first contentdevice, wherein the second content devices are consuming differentcontent simultaneously with the content consumption of the first contentdevice, and wherein each consumption of the different content furthercomprises output characteristics; determining identifiers of the secondcontent devices; and for each second content device having a determinedidentifier different from an identifier of the first content device,modifying the output characteristic of the each second content deviceproximate to the first content device during consumption of any of thedesignated portions of the content on the first content device.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the receiving further comprises receiving theidentifiers of portions of the content from metadata of the content. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the identifiers of the first and secondcontent devices are user identifiers.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe selecting further comprises selecting the second content devicesfrom a predetermined set of devices.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinthe selecting further comprises retrieving locations of the set ofdevices, determining distances between the retrieved locations and apredetermined location, and selecting the second content devicesaccording to those determined distances that are less than a thresholddistance.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the output characteristic isone of an output volume and an output luminance.
 7. The method of claim6, wherein the output characteristic is an output volume, and themodifying further comprises muting the output volume of each secondcontent device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying furthercomprises at least one of reducing the output volume of content consumedon the second content devices and increasing the volume of the firstcontent device.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying furthercomprises modifying the output volume of one or more of ringtones of thesecond content devices, notifications of the second content devices, andalerts of the second content devices.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: selecting third devices different from the first and secondcontent devices; and modifying output characteristics of the selectedthird devices during consumption of any of the predetermined portions ofthe content on the first content device; wherein the third devicesinclude connected devices.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: selecting a different one of the content devices as thefirst content device, so as to select a new first content device;selecting a different set of the content devices as the second contentdevices, so as to select new second content devices; and repeating thereceiving, the determining, and the modifying with the new first contentdevice and the new second content devices as the first content deviceand the second content devices, respectively.
 12. A system for modifyingoutput characteristics of proximate devices, the system comprising: astorage device; and control circuitry configured to: detect contentconsumption of a first content device; receive identifiers of portionsof the content, the portions designated as portions of the contentsusceptible to interruption; select second content devices locatedproximate to the first content device, wherein the second contentdevices are consuming different content simultaneously with the contentconsumption of the first content device, and wherein each consumption ofthe different content further comprises output characteristics;determine identifiers of the second content devices; and for each secondcontent device having a determined identifier different from anidentifier of the first content device, modify the output characteristicof the each second content device proximate to the first content deviceduring consumption of any of the designated portions of the content onthe first content device.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein thereceiving further comprises receiving the identifiers of portions of thecontent from metadata of the content.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the identifiers of the first and second content devices are useridentifiers.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the selecting furthercomprises selecting the second content devices from a predetermined setof devices.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the selecting furthercomprises retrieving locations of the set of devices, determiningdistances between the retrieved locations and a predetermined location,and selecting the second content devices according to those determineddistances that are less than a threshold distance.
 17. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the output characteristic is one of an output volumeand an output luminance.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the outputcharacteristic is an output volume, and the modifying further comprisesmuting the output volume of each second content device.
 19. The systemof claim 12, wherein the modifying further comprises at least one ofreducing the output volume of content consumed on the second contentdevices and increasing the volume of the first content device.
 20. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the modifying further comprises modifyingthe output volume of one or more of ringtones of the second contentdevices, notifications of the second content devices, and alerts of thesecond content devices.
 21. The system of claim 12, wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to: select third devices different fromthe first and second content devices; and modify output characteristicsof the selected third devices during consumption of any of thepredetermined portions of the content on the first content device;wherein the third devices include connected devices.
 22. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: selecta different one of the content devices as the first content device, soas to select a new first content device; select a different set of thecontent devices as the second content devices, so as to select newsecond content devices; and repeat the receiving, the determining, andthe modifying with the new first content device and the new secondcontent devices as the first content device and the second contentdevices, respectively. 23-33. (canceled)
 34. The method of claim 1,wherein the modifying characteristics comprises modifying the outputvolume for the second content device consuming different contentsimultaneously with the content consumption of the first content device.35. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying output characteristics ofproximate devices comprises lowering the volume for the second contentdevice consuming different content simultaneously with the contentconsumption of the first content device.